Feature
Committee Considers Wells Street Conversion
Resolution 080295, sponsored by Alderman Robert Bauman, is the next in a line of files where he has worked to improve the pedestrian experience within the City of Milwaukee. The resolution would complete the conversion of Wells Street to two-ways which he explained would improve the pedestrian environment by slowing traffic. Additionally he pointed out other benefits of two-way streets including that it will “help in connection with retail and commercial activity on the streets”. The portion had been left uncompleted due to property owner concerns as well as concerns over road configurations that would not of been ideal in connection with existing highway ramps. These ramps have since been removed during the Marquette Interchange reconstruction and are no longer a concern of the Department of Public Works. This file was held to allow for more details regarding cost but it appeared to have broad support on the committee. A second file sponsored by Alderman Bauman was file 080294 which proposed the re-striping of West Saint Paul Ave. to improve safety during winter conditions and access to the Intermodal Station. These changes became needed after West Saint Paul Ave. was recently converted to two-way access. This file was approved and will now go before the full Common Council.
Jun 21st, 2008 by Dave Reid
Public Works Committee Holds Up Appointments
The reappointment of Jeff Mantes to the position of Commission of the Department of Public Works and the reappointment of Jeff Polenske to the position of City Engineer were held to the call of the chair to start off this meeting. As numerous reappointments have flown through as of late it appears this may be in response to friction the Common Council has had working with the Department of Public Works. Specifically the Common Council has expressed their concern with how DPW handled snow plowing, leaf removal, and various street improvements. File number 080238 is a grouping of numerous assessable public improvements that included items such as street and alley re-construction. Similar files have experienced an ongoing problem whereas approximately half of individual projects are deleted because property owners are unwilling to pay exorbitantly high assessments. This has lead to the slow crumbling of city streets and ever increasing maintenance costs. Alderman Bob Donovon expressed his displeasure at Mayor Tom Barrett‘s unwillingness to replace the current assessment system with a recently proposed vehicle registration fee, by stating “I am hoping that this administration and the alderman in this community have the guts to move forward and do the right thing in changing the way we pay for paving projects.” This file was approved with numerous deletions and will move on to the Common Council for approval. File number 080195 is an ordinance relating to storm water management regulations. Alderman Michael Murphy argued that this resolution is important to because the “leading cause of pollution to our water system is really through non-point water sources” and this resolution targets those sources. Those sources includes streets and parking lots and this resolution address ways to reduce the amount of paved area which improves the grounds ability to absorb storm water. This resolution was passed and will go before the City Plan Commission for approval.
Jun 21st, 2008 by Dave Reid
Pabst Farms Now Encouraging Retail and Industrial Sprawl
Oconomowoc-based Pabst Farms, yet another development named after what the bulldozers destroy, is not limiting itself to simply encouraging commercial and residential sprawl anymore. In a move that I can only interpret as desperation (in the face of the growing trend of industrial firms relocating to the Menomonee Valley), Pabst Farms developers Developers Diversified Realty Corp of Cleveland is set to begin the construction on the first of three speculative industrial buildings.
Jun 18th, 2008 by Jeramey Jannene
Common Council Expands BID Board
To begin the proceedings Don Smiley the CEO of Summerfest gave a presentation regarding this year’s Summerfest during which he pointed out two items of interest. First, they have demolished the Harley Davidson Roadhouse and constructed a new stage that will open on June 26th. They’ve opened up that stage to the lakeside and created a 3,000 square foot deck so the general public at large can enjoy the lake front while enjoying the music. Secondly, Smiley made it clear that part of Summerfest’s marketing would be to tie the marketing to the City of Milwaukee. These improvements should be applauded and hopefully Summerfest will continue to improve the grounds and connection with the City of Milwaukee. The first items taken up at the Common Council meeting were to complete unfinished business from the previous cycle. Although all five appointments had been held at the encouragement of Alderman Nik Kovac specifically included in this was the appointments of Boris Gokhman and Joel Lee to BID #41. The delay provided time to expand the board from five to seven members and with the history between New Land Enterprises and Alderman Kovac it at least gives the appearance that this board expansion was done to dilute the influence that New Land Enterprises may have on BID #41. The Common Council also approved resolution 080121 which would accept funding from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar America Cities 2008 grant. The City of Milwaukee is one of twelve cities selected for this grant which will be used to provide training for solar panel installation and funds for educational materials to help promote solar technologies. Alderman Tony Zielinski sponsored and encouraged these efforts and it is clear this is just the beggining of his attempts to “green” the City of Milwaukee.
Jun 15th, 2008 by Dave Reid
Residents of Janesville Flock to Milwaukee and Chicago
The title of this post is purely fiction at this point, but is what this writer believes should happen.
Jun 6th, 2008 by Jeramey Jannene
Committtee Approves North End’s Job Training Plan
Dick Lincoln from the Mandel Group presented resolution 071618 which is the job training program portion of The North End development that receives funding from TIF No. 48. He explained that it would be “a little bit different than traditional workforce development” in that in focuses more on mentoring and coaching of emerging businesses to “take them to the next level.” Specifically, the program will help emerging business develop business and management skills so these firms can enter into larger contracts and participate in The North End project. This resolution was approved by the committee and will go before the full Common Council. Resolution 080209 changed the operating plan and structure of Business Improvement District No. 41 which represents the Downer Avenue business district. The changes would enlarged the board from five to seven members and it would adjust various line items within the proposed operating plan to allow the BID greater flexibility in their future operations. Although this resolution seems inoucous enough it gives the appearance as though these changes are connected to New Lan Enterprises’ controvsional re-development efforts on Downer Avenue. It appears this way because while Alderman Nik Kovac has worked to expand BID No. 41 both Boris Gokhman and Joel Lee have had their appointments to BID No. 41 held in committee. This resolution was approved by the committee and will go before the full Common Council.
Jun 4th, 2008 by Dave Reid
Public Works Committee Considers Vehicle Registration Feed
This special committee meeting was scheduled to discuss resolution 080034. It was brought forward by Alderman Robert Bauman, Alderman Bob Donovan, Alderman Wille Wade and, Alderman Willie Hines Jr. and proposed replacing large assessments on property owners to pay for road repaid projects with a $20 vehicular registration fee. Alderman Bauman laid out the three principal goals for this resolution which included improving the infrastructure of the City of Milwaukee, diversifying the City of Milwaukee’s revenue streams and to bring fairness in the assessment process. Specifically this resolution would move $3.5 million in special assessments costs and approximately $3.1 million in property taxes on to the vehicle registration fee. It was pointed out that many suburban commuters and absentee land lords utilize City of Milwaukee roads and although this resolution was held it clearly has merits in that it attempts to find a more equitable distribution of the expense of road construction.
Jun 3rd, 2008 by Dave Reid
Could Robert Ruvin Have Saved RiverSplash?
While it certainly sounds ridiculous, I think it's a distinct possibility that Robert Ruvin could have prevented most, if not all of the trouble stemming from the Saturday night fiasco at RiverSplash on Old World Third Street and Water Street.
Jun 3rd, 2008 by Jeramey Jannene
Urban Milwaukee and Milwaukee Development Update Combine Efforts
Over the past month Texo Development, LLC and Fresh Coast Ventures, LLC have been working to bring together Milwaukee Development Update and Urban Milwaukee. The goal is to create Milwaukee's source for urban news and continue Urban Milwaukee's mission of "Championing Urban Life in the Cream City". The news and stories you've come to expect are still here and more...
Jun 2nd, 2008 by Dave Reid
Nik Kovac Getting First Test From Riverwest Resident Group
The Riverwest Neighborhood Association is going to test Alderman Nik Kovac early in his term.
May 30th, 2008 by Jeramey Jannene
Milwaukee Pollutes Less Than Madison
The Milwaukee metro area produces less carbon per person than Madison
May 30th, 2008 by Jeramey Jannene
Public Works Committee Holds Alley Vacation
Resolution 071564 proposed the vacation of two “paper” alleys to support the Palomar development project within the Park East. Apparently Alderman Bob Bauman read Mary Louise Schumacher‘s article in the Journal Sentinel, History lost in Park East bait-and-switch, because he stated that “I see this as a bait and switch” referring to the dramatic change in design that the Palomar project has undergone since it was originally proposed before Milwaukee County. The original design included the utilization and preservation of both the Sydney Hih and the Gipfel Brewerys whereas the latest design would demolish the Sydney Hih structure and move the Gipfel Brewery to another site. The committee voted to hold this file in attempt to exert some influence over this development. Normally the City of Milwaukee would have influence over development projects that involve land sales and zoning changes but as the new design required neither this is an unusual course of action. Resolution 080211 was a communication from the Public Policy Forum regarding their report on the Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS). The report indicates that in coming years MCTS will have completely spent all of a $44 million reserve of funds and will be projecting deficit spending. It goes on to show how MCTS has spent capital funds to support operational budgets and by doing so has deferred the purchase of 150 new buses. These deferments have pushed maintenance costs higher and will help create a $18 to $20 million dollar hole in upcoming budgets.
May 29th, 2008 by Dave Reid
